Are "advanced" weapons still gated? Or will there still just be the basic 4? I worry that everyone having at least one weapon skill will lessen the effect of a heavy combat character having access to numerous weapon types.

We changes some things into what we are calling abilities. In the past, for instance, ranger wilderness quit was a bit of code tied directly to the ranger class. The way things work was rejiggered so that the code creating that capability is now tied to an ability. Abilities can then be applied to classes, in an easier way than before.

The current version of the class helpfiles list out (most of) the abilities that a class has.

Abilities are a formalization of things that already exist, delineated out a bit more and done in a way that is more flexible. Things that were directly attached to classes, since we canít rely on that for the new classes. Being able to hitch two mounts. Ciity / wilderness sneak. Etc.

It makes a lot more sense. I was often getting the ranger class simply for grebbers interested in grebbing food, or burglar for hiding in taverns. Skills I had no real business throwing away my whole guild to have, and sometimes came with other skills that didn't make sense for me to have. If ranger quit were dependent on you say having journeyman bowhunting, then that would make more sense.

With a handful of exceptions, the new classes starting skill levels are higher in things they are able to get really good at.

This is based on the underlying number skill level, rather than the descriptive word you see, such that there is only a certain number, or less, of skill points between starting and max skill level for any skill.